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Most of the time Hiring Managers or Interviewers make mistakes more easily than the person being interviewed, intentional or unintentional. Hiring managers are not stressed out at all during interviews since they tend to be complacent thus sometimes coming in to interview unprepared. While this is a common thing, these should be avoided since it is likely the reason to damage an employer’s reputation or the loss of an excellent prospective employee.

Mistakes can be avoided. Here is a list of the most common interviewer mistakes that might be as common as you think:

Not received properly

The majority of job hunters are energetic and excited, therefore, being on time is important. Your image can easily be damaged if you have not properly managed your time and keep them waiting. To find out that reception has not even informed who they should be meeting can be equally frustrating. Provide the candidates with a warm welcome, not doing so will not only affect that first impression of the company but also demotivate and affect interview performance. 

Not reading their resume

Not preparing before the interview and managing to take a few minutes of your time prior to an interview to find out what’s on the candidate’s resume can turn into a big hiring problem. Showing respect by showing interest in their qualifications rather than cold procedure. This way you will end up asking irrelevant questions or rambling because you are already on the spot. Any candidate will sense what you are trying to do and will see incompetence or that feeling of disrespect.

Being apathetic and it’s obvious

Candidates deserve to be heard. They have spent a lot of time preparing for an interview. It will definitely show during the interview that they do not have your full attention. Avoid being detached and unenthusiastic. Do not check your email, phone, have a segway chat with someone who passed by, or even take down notes. Look at them while you interview them.

Dominating the discussion

Having an endless monologue can become one of the most harmful interviewer mistakes and detrimental to the hiring process. A little ice breaker, a short introduction about the company is fine. 80 percent of the time candidates should be encouraged to do all the speaking. Do not be too quiet though, it’s good to ask clear and concrete questions and follow up on their answers to probe deeper. 

Asking annoying questions

The best way to annoy candidates is to ask Irrelevant, rhetorical, and overly complicated questions. Being predictable with brainteasers is not the best choice for common interview situations. Making sure to take time in choosing the best set of interview questions that would be relevant to the specific role you are evaluating. 

Boasting

Presenting the company in the best possible light during interviews is okay. But do not get carried away – even if you have the reason to be. Praise the company in a moderate manner to also get the candidates more eager and excited about being in that interview, and hopefully cross their fingers on getting the job. Blabbering about oneself during an interview is a definite NO-NO, refrain from talking or praising yourself, this is the time for the Candidate to shine, not yours. 

Being too honest

Having that thought of having a chance to succeed is always on the minds of every candidate. And it can be very unsettling if you tell them that they’re inferior to other candidates and that the chances of them being hired are zero to none. Even undervaluing their background and interrupting them mid-sentence to tell them their answer is not satisfying or correct. Never give out feedback while interviewing. Save this for a post-interview rejection letter. Which you’ll have crafted carefully. 

Avoiding Questions

As an interviewer – not knowing the answer to every single question is valid, and there is no shame in that. Do not be inclined to deflect them and never condescending. Treat each candidate fairly by being honest. If you don’t know or can’t disclose the answer, then say so. If it can be disclosed, then you can always direct the candidate to a person who can correctly answer them, this way they will not feel deceived.

Rushing

Imagine a candidate excited about an opportunity to be interviewed in your company. They spend hours researching, thinking about what possible questions and scenarios you will ask them, gathering up all the courage to come up with the answer. Then, you come in and start talking and asking questions in a rush ending the interview in 15 minutes. We can all understand how unfulfilling and aggravating that would be. So, when you decide to bring in a candidate for an interview, be prepared to take your time. That is the only way to evaluate them effectively to make an informed decision.

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Summary

Effective interviewer skills and knowledge are critical to its organization’s success. As a person who will most likely do interviews, may it be a manager, HR professionals, and any other role that may be tasked to do interviews, you have a big responsibility, so make sure you are prepared and trained. Knowing the mistakes can help you avoid them in your next interview. Because you should not forget, if candidates have a bad interview experience, they will likely tell others and it could damage the brand of your company.